The City Royale
OVERVIEW An extensive city that surrounds the castle on three sides, and home to Paradisa’s native visitors. There is very little technology, so the primary mode of transportation is by foot, although there is the occasional horse or horse-drawn carriage. There are three districts; the Arts district, the Industrial district and the Business district, with residential areas split between the three. A short wall surrounds the city, and there are approximately thirty archways that allow passage. These are never manned or guarded, and none of them have gates. The city is fairly short; the tallest building in the city is only six stories tall, and it belongs to the mayor. The population tends to stay in the vicinity of about 90,000 people, though it fluctuates often due to resident-caused destruction. Occasionally, festivals and celebrations take place within the city; the residents are always invited to these and may attend or not as they wish. It is a ten-minute walk to the city from the castle. DISTRICTS Main Street Main Street is the unifying street in town; you can access everything else from there. It is a long, cobblestone stretch with beautiful tiled patterns, and the marketplace runs along the sides. In the centre is a large fountain, well-known as a meeting place for people. There are a lot of teashops and coffeehouses along the street. The Arts District Home to the artisans and craftspeople of the City Royale. Its primary attraction is a large theatre, known by the cityfolk as the venue for only the most popular or famous plays. It tends to have more of a problem with crime than the other districts. There is also what seems to be a large church, here, but it doesn’t seem to be dedicated to any particular religion. The Industrial District Largely off-limits to “civilians” and mostly left ignored by castle residents, the Industrial District is home to small factories. The area was heavily effected by the Nelo Angelo attack, and then lated by the Fairy Tail mishap; as a result, they are still rebuilding this area. The Business District Shopping, the nightlife and all commercial venues can be found in this area of the city. There are hundreds of stores along here, most of them being small family-owned businesses. On weekends, weather permitting, the streets are lined with small mobile vendors setting fruits, flowers, and small goods. RESIDENT OWNED PROPERTIES Some residents choose to set up businesses in the city rather than the castle. Breath of Earth Owned by Aerith Gainsborough, Breath of Earth is a flower shop that specializes in flower arrangements, houseplants, and small landscaping. Caritas Owned by Lorne, Caritas is a karaoke bar that has a relaxed, come-as-you-are vibe. Anyone is welcome, and all can feel safe there courtesy of the Sanctuary Spell that prohibits violence within the bar itself. Fairyland Animal Center Owned by Sakaki, the Fairyland Animal Center is sanctuary and resource for pets, animal residents, residents who are on animal losses, and other animals within the Paradisa world. Its most important function is providing a place for unwanted animals, strays, and those left behind when their masters leave Paradisa, until they are adopted. The Magick Box II Owned by Anya, the Magick Box II is your one stop Magick shop. Stocked with varied religious totems, magickal ingredients and a variety of decorate items and candles, Anya ensures you that there is something for everyone within her shop. The Paradisa Tourist Board Owned by Ianto Jones, the small shop is the perfect first stop for any new Cair Paradisa resident! With brochures about all the lovely sites of the surrounding land, as well as a map of the City Shoppes it holds a great deal of information. Also while you're there pick up a post card! Back in stock the popular Eyeless Buffalo "Wish you could see this" card. The Pie Hole Owned by Claire Bennet, it is the best place to go and grab a slice of pie! Founded by Ned, it boasts some of the best pies in the city, and most of the customers would gladly stand by that claim. The WildKat Owned by Barney Stinson, the WildKat is a coffee shop that serves up the best coffee in City Royale. From just a cup of black coffee to the fancy ice mocha drinks with whipped cream and drizzled toppings, you'll get your caffeine with flavor! Urahara Shoten Owned by Urahara Kisuke. It is an exact replica of the Urahara Shoten located in Karakura. Although it fronts as a candy store on the surface, it is actually the go-to place for black market supernatural goods--particularly when concerning specialty shinigami items. Beneath the store is an underground cavern used for training, complete with a hot spring that is able to heal the injuries of anyone who soaks in it. Most of the area beyond the main store front are inaccessible to anyone but his employees, or those living in one of the spare rooms of the store which Urahara rents out for a reasonable price~ LIFE IN THE CITY The city is what you might find in a small city on Earth; it feels smaller than it really is, and it is very slow in most areas. It seems very “cute” and friendly, but there isn’t much going on after dark. There are a few taverns and very odd "clubs", but otherwise once the sun sets, it's eerily silent. Housing Affordable housing is easily come by, should residents opt to move out, as the castle will provide the money to afford it, but it comes with the loneliness that is being cut off from the main flow of the castle, and all the pampering and perks that come with it. Garbage and Street Cleaning Garbage generally goes into a big compost pile out by the farms, or is burned. The (cleanliness of the) streets are maintained alternately by the people who live on that portion of street (and are therefore responsible for hosing down their portion of the sidewalk/road) and by a "cleaning crew" that comes through on Sunday morning to more thoroughly clean everything. The roads are all brick or dirt, so if they're damaged, carpenters or builders in the city will repair it. Healthcare There is a hospital in the city as well as a few smaller "family" doctors. Commerce Stores tend to sell handcrafted items, and while most of it is very pretty, nothing is very original. Shopping can get very redundant because of this; if you’ve seen it in one store, you’ve probably seen it in the other hundred. They're fairly content with what they have. The wares might change, but it wouldn't be very noticeable because if there's a demand for it, you'll notice that most stores will begin to carry the same wares as well. (Maybe with different paint or labels, though.) There doesn't seem to be a push for the latest and greatest of anything. Trade doesn't come into the city as they have no contact with any other cities. They produce all the materials that are used in the stores etc. by themselves, or they may possibly receive materials from people in the castle. The city is generally self-sufficient. When asked, the townspeople might even answer like they know there something came from, but fact of the matter is, when a horse-and-cart comes to deliver a new shipment of paper or ore or something, where did that cart really come from? Did it just APPEAR somewhere when no one was looking, and then no one questioned where it came from when it went to do its deliveries? It's especially jarring because the townspeople wouldn't really know any different -- how are they supposed to know what a GENUINELY self-reliant community would look like if they've never been to one that doesn't have a castle pulling the strings? The city self-produces everything, but where it gets the materials to do that is a big question mark in most cases Banking works in a very non-modern way - richer families will act as "merchants" and "bankers" and extend a credit of sorts towards other families. They lend caisos out of their own personal savings and profit on the interest. It's possible for people to trade with each other via bartering, too! Organisations There are some social clubs (book club, ladies club, etc) as well as organizations relating to different trades (blacksmithing, carpentry, artists, etc). More radical/newer things like PETA or the KKK or something don't exist though. Fashion The style of dress, by large, is some strange combination of Renaissance and modern clothing; there doesn’t seem to be any changes to this fashion trend, though the stores are always stocking different styles. Women tend to wear corsets, petticoats and bustles, while men wear suits with vests, coats and spats. Currency The currency in the city is made from brightly coloured metals, and comes in a variety of denominations. They are called Caisos. Technology The City Royale has begun the industrial revolution, meaning most things are run on steam. It has electricity as well, but it is only in the richer parts of town, and it is not widespread or well understood at all. The City Royale is also expanding, slowly but surely; they are a determined little population and they are constantly rebuilding or improving upon their town, though progress is somewhat difficult to make, with castle residents so frequently causing trouble and destruction. Most things in the city are made from iron, wood and brass. They are far from the luxury of the castle, but they remain an attractive, beautiful place nonetheless, in an entirely different way. Technology is extremely basic. They're still using horses for transport and farming, etc, but some parts of the city do have limited electricity. Lamps are still oil-based, stoves still wood-fueled for the most part, that kind of stuff. Generally, the city is very static in this respect: they never seem to make much progress and don't integrate well with offered technology from the castle, but then again, with only 'five years' of history for the residents, it's hard to tell how the might change over a long period of time... if at all. Power comes to the city the same way it does to the castle. Wires, vents and pipes that go down into the ground, with no determinable origin. Presumably it's electricity and does serve an actual purpose, but given that the castle runs on magic, it's like they're there largely for show. Law Enforcement The City Royale has its own police force, called the "City Royale Law Enforcement". They are very casual about their business, welcome aid from the residents, and while they are very forgiving to the residents about damages and crimes in the city, they will attempt to wrangle some sort of justice. They recognize that some causes are fairly lost, but they'll at least try. The crime is more along the lines of theft, maybe some petty arson or graffiti here and there, extortion, fist fights... But as far as the more violent crimes like murder, they're extremely rare to the point of almost non-existent. The police force is small and moderately competent. They're mostly friendly, and tend to 'know' everyone. However, they might be less likely to arrest someone for a resident of the castle than they would for a resident of the city. They're pretty able to solve the crimes on their own. If a crime is committed, they'll get to the bottom of it as quickly as they can, though not with any grand gestures. There is a jail, and a court system with a judge and a jury in town which deals with criminals there. Laws generally, they follow common logic. No stealing, no killing, no destroying property, etc etc. Punishment usually consists of jail time or fines depending on the severity of the crime. Overall, while there's crime, the rate of townsperson on townsperson murder is extremely low/nonexistent. They will not approach the castle or the Dead Zone on a whole, so it's possible for a castle resident to commit crimes in town and never be prosecuted or punished. ATMOSPHERE The native people of Paradisa are aware that their world is conscious. They are, however, not aware of how dark this consciousness is. They will find it impossible to express their awareness of this consciousness, and become lethargic, dismissive or confused when pressured about it. Their memories are strange; they don’t seem to make lasting memories or form lasting friendships with any resident, and more often than not forget their individual identities soon after meeting them. Nor do they remember castle-induced or resident-induced events; they refer to them as if they’re historical events, not things that happened months, weeks, or even days ago. They know that the residents don’t belong in Paradisa, and they know nothing about the castle or its history. They try to rationalize the residents’ behaviour, even if it is destructive, and refer to the residents as “the Travelers”. If no one asks, the townspeople won't advertise their life story. The further back in history one asks about their lineage, however, the more muddled it'll get. They don't have the luxury of ancestry.com or the like, and tend to keep family records in the family or vague details in the city census. They avoid talking about the castle in general as it makes them uncomfortable. The mayor is a figurehead. Someone to look up to in town. There's also a council that supports him and help keep him up to date with any concerns from the folk. Aside from that, there's not a defined government in the city. Otherwise, the city is a pleasant, bustling place. Other than the aforementioned traits, the citizens are as unique and varied as your average population, each with their own stories and personalities. They tend to be extremely polite to residents, but this doesn’t mean they’ll be overwhelmingly courteous or charitable to them; they still expect to be paid for their services. The size of the population lends itself to a pretty decent birth/death rate. It loses (bigger) numbers mostly when villains blow things up, but because of the size of the population, it's not as big of a deal as it may seem. There's a wide variety of ages within the population, and it follows a sort of a pyramid shape - the older they get, the less of them there are. As the townspeople are considered "natives" of Paradisa, they don't follow the same life/death/aging laws that the current castle residents and the First Gens do. THE COUNTRYSIDE On the opposite side of the City, further away from the Castle, is the countryside that stretches between the city and the thicker woods. These are the farmlands; vast stretches of fields and quaint little cottages and barns. There isn't much in the way of an irrigation system because Paradisa constantly keeps its soil perfect for growing things in. They never have a bad harvest even though it almost never rains. There are meat farms out in the farming district, but it certainly isn't as developed as the produce sector. Native animals include deer, ducks and the odd bear. In the spring, there are birds and butterflies and stuff. Paradisa is eerily quiet on the animal front